Hi everyone! My name is Nick Marsella. I live in New York City, and I am a graduate student at Juilliard studying Music Composition.

As a composer, I live and breathe collaboration. My work is completely dependent on it. And if there is anything I’ve learned about it, it’s that diversity is its fuel. At the foundation of their craft, before the notes that they write, I’m convinced that a composer’s role in music is to create the context for people to collaborate. Music may be the primary result of this work, but it is not the end of it. 

For example, if you watch any orchestra perform a Beethoven symphony, what you will likely see is around one hundred individual human beings from different countries, languages, and world-views working together despite their differences to accomplish that performance and invite us as the listeners to experience it with them. 

To take this example further, the music we hear certainly is something extraordinarily beautiful, but I would submit that even before a note is played, Beethoven’s actual role in that performance as composer was fulfilled when all of those different musicians gathered to collaborate in the first place. Listen carefully to the different instrumentalists and how different the timbre of each of their instruments is. The result of everyone’s work is an accomplishment that is just as much diverse as it is unified. And that is what I’ve observed real collaboration will always yield if it’s successful: a diversified unity in accomplishment.

Ed Catmull, in his book Creativity Inc, describes that when they were building Pixar’s campus, it was important to them that all employees from every department walked through a common intersection point on their way to and from their office. They designed the building to promote the intersection of differing viewpoints, because they know that people are relational and creative relationships that are diversified are much more effective than those that are not.

Going back to our example, if it was not for those musicians and their skillsets being so different, the performance we would have would be so much less exciting and much less interesting. This is why diversity is the fuel that collaboration thrives on. No matter how different the artists are from one another, it is that very difference that imbues strength and interest into the end result.

Nick brings up some very good points. I strongly agree that teams often perform better when they are composed of individuals from diverse backgrounds. As I’ve mentioned in a previous sound byte, our experiences are an incredible source for our creativity, and so when a team is comprised of individuals that share different experiences, then they can offer more creative input, which leads to greater ideas and actions.

While diversity is important, there are many other important criteria for a successful team. For example, as Nick described, a successful orchestra is composed of many talented individuals that each have a unique style or background that helps to add and improve upon the notes on the page. This is all made possible because musicians share a common language. Any classically trained musician whether they are from Sydney or South Africa can understand and collaborate with another musician because they both share a common language of music.

This is why it is important to understand that when collaborating with a team, you must be able to find a way to communicate effectively. Communicating does not end with a translator or learning a new language, but also being able to listen and respect those with different backgrounds. We’ve already talked about the importance of having diversity, but it is far more important to foster diversity. This can be done by recognizing and embracing our differences, while being mindful of not discouraging others to do the same. If a team can accomplish this, then I believe successful collaboration is sure to follow.